The Alternative to Antibiotics: Uro-Vaxom as Treatment for Recurrent UTIs

Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are responsible for more than 8.1 million visits to health care providers each year. In Singapore, it is estimated that over 40% of women develop a UTI at least once during their lifetime.

With such a track record, one can bet that all avenues of treatment have been tried and tested. However, popular home remedies like drinking unsweetened cranberry juice or consuming natural supplements such as bearberry leaf and garlic extract have only provided differing and inconclusive results.

Thanks to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance, the once-trusted prescription is also gaining its camp of sceptics. Its impact is already being seen today, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality for specific patient groups.

A 2019 study reported that over 20% of UTI cases were resistant to antibiotics prescribed to them. In a grander scheme, this contributed to over 400 deaths by UTI annually, nudging this infection to the eighth most common cause of death in Singapore.

If you experience recurrent UTIs, don’t be discouraged; it is not all bleak. Recent studies of alternative non-antibiotic treatment strategies such as Uro-Vaxom have been delivering optimal results.

Currently licensed in over 30 countries and endorsed in the latest European Association of Urology guidelines, this immuno-modulator responds to UTIs by stimulating macrophages and lymphocytes, and increasing the levels of circulating endogenous IgA/IgG antibodies.

This is supported by a 2020 study by Brodie et al., which reported a significant decrease in the number of UTIs in the 12 months following administration of Uro-Vaxom, compared to the 12 months before treatment (3.14 vs. 1.53, p ≤ 0.05).

In corroborating research, the benefits of Uro-Vaxom are postulated to extend beyond reducing the number of UTI recurrences. It’s been linked to the reduced severity of UTI-associated symptoms as well.

The positive response to Uro-Vaxom, regardless of the bacteria cultured, further solidifies the theory that it reduces UTI recurrence principally by stimulating the immune system, and not by direct action on bacteria. This, thereby, primes the body’s natural defence against all bacteria, and is not specific to just E. coli.

With a growing body of evidence in favour of it, and supporting statements from patients studied, Uro-Vaxom is ticking off all the right boxes to be the next best treatment for recurrent UTIs.